What is mithril.js?

mithriljs/mithril.js — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 14,486JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Mithril.js))
    Features
      Virtual DOM
      Built-in router
      HTTP requests
    Size
      Under 9 kilobytes
      No extra libs
    Use Cases
      Single-page apps
      Fast load times
      Interactive UIs
    Audience
      Web developers
      Performance-focused

mindmap root((Mithril.js)) Features Virtual DOM Built-in router HTTP requests Size Under 9 kilobytes No extra libs Use Cases Single-page apps Fast load times Interactive UIs Audience Web developers Performance-focused

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Build a single-page web app that navigates between views without reloading the page, using Mithril's built-in router.

USE CASE 2

Create a fast-loading interactive UI where bundle size matters, without pulling in a large framework.

USE CASE 3

Fetch data from a server API and render it dynamically on screen using Mithril's built-in request utilities.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptTypeScript

How does it compare?

	mithriljs/mithril.js	bootstrap-vue/bootstrap-vue	keystonejs/keystone-classic
Stars	14,486	14,457	14,520
Language	JavaScript	JavaScript	JavaScript
Setup difficulty	easy	easy	moderate
Complexity	2/5	2/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

Mithril.js is a JavaScript framework for building single-page web applications. A single-page application is a website where navigating between sections does not reload the entire page, instead, JavaScript dynamically updates only the parts of the screen that change, making the experience feel faster and more like a native app. What sets Mithril apart from larger frameworks is its size: the whole library is under 9 kilobytes when compressed, which means it loads extremely quickly. Despite being small, it includes everything a developer commonly needs: a way to describe the interface using a virtual DOM (a system where you describe what the screen should look like and Mithril figures out the minimum changes needed to update it), a built-in router for handling navigation between different views, and built-in utilities for making network requests to servers. Many other frameworks require separate libraries for routing and networking, adding extra size and configuration. The framework is used by companies including Vimeo and Nike, and powers the chess platform Lichess. It supports modern versions of Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Chrome without requiring any extra compatibility code. Installation is simple: you can either include a single script tag in an HTML file to load it from a public content delivery network, or install it via npm (the standard package manager for JavaScript projects). TypeScript type definitions are also available, which helps developers who use TypeScript for its static type checking. Mithril is suitable for developers who want a framework with a small footprint and low overhead, particularly for projects where bundle size or load time matters.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Write a Mithril.js component that fetches a list of users from /api/users and displays each one as a card with their name and email.

Prompt 2

Set up Mithril.js routing so that navigating to /dashboard renders a Dashboard component and /profile renders a Profile component without a page reload.

Prompt 3

How do I handle form input in Mithril.js so that changes to a text field immediately update a state variable and re-render the component?

Prompt 4

Show me how to replace a jQuery AJAX call with Mithril's m.request to POST form data to an API endpoint and handle the response.

Frequently asked questions